The invention relates to a flat vehicle body component made of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
In the last few decades light weight construction has played an increasingly predominant role in the manufacture of motor vehicles, because a lighter weight motor vehicle has a lower drive power requirement for the same vehicle handling properties. Furthermore, the light weight construction contributes to the reduction in fuel consumption as well as a reduction in the use of raw materials. Therefore, the current trend is to use not only light weight metals, but also synthetic plastic materials in the construction of the vehicle body. In this context, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) exhibit the maximum stiffness based on their weight.
A carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) consists of at least one layer of carbon fibers that are embedded in a plastic matrix. The matrix usually includes a duromer, such as epoxy resin. The drawback of such components made of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic is that the material drastically limits the shape of the components. For example, a CFRP component cannot have precision bends. Moreover, it is difficult to fasten other components to a CFRP component. In the production of motor vehicles the components are often clipped, welded or screwed together. For this purpose, the vehicle body components, to which the other components are to be fastened, have to have corresponding holes. However, holes in a CFRP component cannot be simply punched out, as in the case of holes in a sheet metal component, but rather have to be milled in a time-consuming and costly manner. In so doing, the carbon fibers are separated in the region of the hole, so that the CFRP component is considerably less rigid in the region of the hole.
The object of the present invention is to provide a possibility for fastening a component to a flat CFRP component such that there is no significant decrease in the stiffness of the CFRP component in the region of the fastening of the component.
This and other objects are achieved with a flat vehicle body component that is made of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic and that consists of at least one layer of carbon fibers that are embedded in epoxy resin, wherein the flat vehicle body component has at least one interconnecting web that protrudes upwards from the flat vehicle body component and that is made entirely of epoxy resin. A mounting part at least partially envelops the interconnecting web in a force locking manner so that the mounting part is clamped securely on the interconnecting web. The mounting part has at least one hole that can be used for fastening another component.
According to the invention, a flat vehicle body component made of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) has at least one interconnecting web that protrudes upwards from the flat vehicle body component and that is made entirely of the matrix material epoxy resin. A mounting part at least partially envelops the interconnecting web in a force locking manner, so that the mounting part is clamped securely on the interconnecting web. The mounting part has at least one hole that can be used for fastening another component. This feature makes it possible to fasten an additional component in a hole in a conventional way, so that the vehicle body component made of a CFRP does not have to have corresponding holes. The at least one interconnecting web may be integrally molded on the vehicle body component during the manufacture of the vehicle body component, so that practically no additional engineering effort is needed for the interconnecting web. The only initial requirement is that the mounting part has to be securely clamped in the manner of an adapter on the at least one interconnecting web. Thereafter, other components can be fastened to the mounting part in a conventional and well-known manner.
The mounting part is made advantageously of a metal sheet. As a result, the components can also be fastened in at least one hole in a metal sheet, as in the case of a conventional vehicle body made of sheet steel. Hence, all tried and tested fastening elements (bolts, screws, clips, etc.) can be used without modification.
Preferably, the mounting part is designed such that it can be pushed with force from the top onto the at least one interconnecting web, in order to mount the mounting part on the flat vehicle body component. Advantageously the mounting part has at least one clamping section, which rests against the interconnecting web and which has several teeth facing the interconnecting web. In this case, the teeth are designed in such a way that their flanks make it easy to push the mounting part onto the interconnecting web, but engage with the interconnecting web when the mounting part is pulled off of the interconnecting web. The interconnecting web is made of an epoxy resin that has a low elasticity. This feature enables the teeth to bite into the interconnecting web owing to the force locking clamping.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.